Truth and Lies
by loveforlater
Summary: Loki Odinson wants to join SHIELD and after he's declined acceptance, he creates his own personal superhero persona and gets in as a woman. His luck starts increasing as he becomes a part of the Avengers, an elite group of superheroes who travel through the nine realms. The catch? The Avengers includes his ex-boyfriend Tony Stark, who is still very much in love with him.
1. Chapter 1

Loki Odinson has just finished his assessment for the entry to the Super Hero Intelligence and Excellence Lab Division, or SHIELD as many people call it. SHIELD is a private section of the FBI that focuses on creating superheroes for the intergalactic war that is currently happening. SHIELD tests people on their moral, intelligence, strength, will, and many other points of focus to determine if one is accepted into the lab.

Once accepted, the newcomer meets with SHIELD agents to create a super hero persona. Bruce Banner, who's superhero alter ego is the Hulk (a lean green killing machine), helps along with the aid of Tony Stark, a well-known billionaire jerk who helps fund SHIELD. And yes, Stark has a superhero persona as well.

It's Iron Man, the well-known hunk of metal that arrogantly shoots down ships and saves people from their stupidity with his charming looks.

If you can't tell already, Loki is not a fan of Tony Stark or Iron Man. Tony Stark disgusts him and makes him sick. They used to be friends until Loki moved to London and then Tony turned into a jackass. Now they're 24 and Tony's an international playboy. Loki visited him once, but that didn't end well (it ended with Stark vomiting all over Loki's new car seats and with the drunk idiot trying to hump him).

Loki's been in the States for three years now, yet Stark has not contacted him at all. And Loki knows Stark knows he's back. The billionaire fucking saved Loki's ass once, as Iron Man of course. He took Loki out of a burning building and let 20 other people die.

That should leave an impression on a guy.

Either way, Loki wants to help in this war, so like many other people, he's testing into SHIELD. Hopefully, he'll get in, and then he'll annoy the fuck out of Stark while they work together. Revenge for turning into an ass.

"Loki? How did the test go?" Frigga, Loki's mom, calls as he closes the front door.

"It was satisfactory, Mother." Loki smiles and walks to his lounging mom, sitting beside her. "I hope to get in as you know, but so many people are trying to get in."

"I'm sure you'll be admitted, Lokes." his mother hugs him before she gets up. "Your brother is in his room. Do you want to say hi before he has to leave?"

Loki's face brightens up and he rushes to his brother's room.

Loki hasn't seen his older brother in years. Before the family moved to London, Thor tested for SHIELD and got in. He's been traveling around the world as a superhero of the same name, a hero who can control thunder and lightning with a big hammer.

And if Loki must admit, he's missed the blonde oaf.

"Hey," Loki knocks tentatively. "Thor, are you in here?"

"Loki?"

The door opens and a grinning Thor wearing his armor stands in the doorway. Loki can't help but smile back as he embraces his brother, not caring that he's not a people person or one for physical contact in general.

"It's been so long, Thor." the younger brother says, squeezing tighter. He pulls away with a smile. "How is SHIELD?"

"Extremely stressful. The Chitauri do not mess around, dear brother." Loki nods as he can see exhaustion written all over his brother. "I heard you tested for SHIELD."

"Yes, in fact I did. Just today actually." Loki sighs. "So many people are trying to become superheroes. I met this one guy named Peter Parker. We were in line together. He's 18 and wants to keep his aunt safe and alive. Like the rest of us, he wants to end this war."

"We all try our best, but this invasion is completely chaotic."

"Sort of like-"

The buzzing sound of a phone interrupts Loki from his snarky comment about Stark. Thor pulls out his SIP (Stark Industries Phone) and sighs heavily.

"I'm sorry my brother, but work calls my name." Thor gives his brother one mor hug. "Stay strong and stay alive. I will see you soon enough."

Loki nods and watches his brother jump out of the window, flying farther away from him.

"Did he leave?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you go see Clint and Natasha? They called earlier and want to talk about their own assessments."

Loki smiles at the mention of his two (and only) friends. Loki met Natasha (before Tony) in second grade and they've been friends ever since. The first two years were strained, but as they spent more time together, they slowly got closer. When Tony started hanging out with them in 5th grade, he thought they were dating, but no, they weren't and never will.

Clint was one of Tony's friends, who had (and probably still has) a crush on Loki. Their relationship was a little awkward, but with pushes from Tasha and Tony, they became friends by 7th grade.

Then 10th grade came and Loki moved. Thor, in 12th grade at the time, got into SHIELD and the group broke apart.

"I'll be back, Mother!" Loki calls, getting into his car before he drives off to Natasha's house where Clint will also be. The feisty red-head meets him at her door. "Natasha."

"Loki."

"Hey dude! How was your assessment?" Clint rushes out side with a big grin and helps Loki out of his car. "Mine was all weird. This one guy names Steve Rogers-"

"Captain America? Wow, you got lucky." Natasha whistles and Clint smirks.

"Anyway, he was tough on my strength drills, but said my bow and arrow skills are off the chain." Loki gives Clint a high-five.

"And you Natasha?" Loki asks, walking inside the comfy house.

"I got Tony."

Everyone freezes.

"You did?" Loki grunts, hostility thick in his words.

"Yes. We didn't talk, just fought and took tests." Natasha shrugs. "I guess he just wanted to act professional for once." Loki snorts, but makes no further comment.

"Lokes, your turn." Clint says, trying to shatter the thick wall of ice Loki created.

"I got Director Fury."

The ice shatters.

"What?" Natasha shrieks, turning on Loki. "You got tested by Fury himself?" Loki nods. "Oh by all the nine realms, you lucky bastard!"

"Lucky? He called me a pathetic weakling." Loki pouts, crossing his arms. "He told me I'd be better fit for actually FBI work instead of, and I quote, "parading around in a fucking uniform about to get killed". He didn't seem to like me much."

"Nick Fury doesn't like anyone." Clint tags on. The other two nod in agreement.

"He told me my math skills were off the charts and my science skills were extremely good, almost as good as my math. Yet, he kept repeating how I'm not cut out for superhero work, not cut out to be tested on in a lab."

"Lokes, don't listen to him! You belong in there! SHIELD needs you and it's Fury's fault if he doesn't see that!" Natasha drags her friends into a hug. "We should be getting our letters in five days. Let us pray to all the gods that we all get in."

The three make a group hug, silence washing over them as chaos continues outside their safe abode. Loki leaves earlier than usual, murmuring something about his mother, but in truth, he's scared and he doesn't want Tasha or Clint to pick up on it (they know him that well).

He's scared that maybe Fury is right. He's not as strong as Clint. He knows some moves, but he's not as good at hand combat like Natasha. He can use a gun (it's something everyone learns in 6th grade) and staffs. Also swords and other weapons of the like, but what superhero uses a sword (He-Man does not count)? And guns seem to have no affect on the Chitauri.

Loki sighs and plops down onto his bed when he arrives home, curling up against himself, feeling small and inferior. When his letter comes in five days, he'll show Fury he can be a superhero. He may not have Hulk like strength, but he has Iron Man like smarts. And no, he did not just think that.

Five days pass and Loki waits anxiously for his letter to arrive. The Chitauri are in the midst of destroying New York (his home and birth town) right now, and they're advancing throughout the state. Thor said he'll try to come by, but he might not make it. Frigga is just as anxious as Loki is and Odin? Loki hasn't seen in days, but he doesn't care. Odin wouldn't care if Loki got in or not, seeing that he didn't even let his son skip the three grades he was smart enough to skip because Odin didn't want to "embarrass Thor by having a younger brother who is grade ahead of him". Thor didn't mind really, but Odin was having none of that.

Loki's SIP rings and he answers to find a squealing Natasha and Clint on the other side.

"We got our letters Loki!" Natasha exclaims. Loki smiles widely for his friends, yet a part of him wonders why his hasn't come yet. He's closer to the SHIELD base than they are. "Have you gotten yours yet?"

"No, not yet. Don't worry, I'll call you as soon as I get it, ok?"

"Don't give up Lokes. Sometimes people get the letters in a week or eight days instead of five days." Clint says with a smile in his voice. "We have orientation in a couple hours, wish us luck!"

Natasha ends the call and Loki slumps back in his seat, fighting back the tears he won't let fall. His letter is probably just late. Sometimes that happens with people.

The next day, there's still no letter. Peter Parker calls though and tells Loki he got in. Natasha and Clint ramble about orientation and how awesome it was to meet all the superheroes and they wish Loki was there with them. Their assurances become empty-handed after the eight-day after Loki's testing.

It was becoming clear that Loki didn't get accepted into SHIELD. Fury was right. He is a weakling and he's not suitable for SHIELD.

"Loki, what are you doing?"

The black haired man turns onto his side, finding himself facing a black clad Natasha and a purple masked Clint with a quiver of arrows and a bow in his room.

"Laying on my bed." Loki sits up and smiles at his friends. "What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be in New York fighting off the aliens?"

"We wanted to say goodbye to you before we leave." Natasha rushed to her friends side and took him in a tight hug, the man hugging back.

"So, who are you supposed to be?" Loki asks, his throat tight as he tries not to cry. It's been a month since Clint and Tasha got their letters, he shouldn't still be upset.

"I'm Black Widow and Clint here is Hawkeye. We don't have many powers, just extra strength, agility and speed."

"We're gonna miss you, Lokes." Clint gives Loki a hug as well, the masked man with tears in his eyes. "I hope to see you again."

"Don't say that. I know we will see each other soon enough. You will come back to San Francisco as heroes with Thor, Bruce and Ton-Stark." Loki's bottom lip quivers. "Don't give up on yourselves. I know you two will be new to the program, but Stark and Rodgers will be there. They'll be sure to help you."

"Thank you, Loki." Clint presses a friendly kiss to Loki's cheek before the two run out of the room, disappearing into the night.

Loki sighs and hopes so very much that his friends don't get killed out there in New York. They have so much potential, but they're not invincible. They might not come back. Loki's eyes water and he chokes back a sob in the cool dark air. The moon glistens in the sky, her glowing light illuminating the night for the SHIELD heroes and this time, Loki lets his tears fall.

Since Loki is still bruised from his SHIELD rejection, he won't test again, not anytime soon. For now, he can work on his own personal superhero as a side project to the car engine he's working on. So far, Loki's thinking about shapeshifting, the technique of changing one's appearance and voice to fit a different person's own.

He has a pretty basic design to it that's based on touch. He'll have to wear some special gloves that detect DNA. Then somehow, he'll take that DNA and make it his own, shifting himself into the other person.

But for now, he'll work on shifting between himself and a female version of himself (he got the female DNA when he deciphered his own and changed the chromosomes so it'll detect being female).

Loki spends every waking hour in his lab, fretting over his friends and creating a device that will allow him to change his DNA so he can shift into his female form.

His mother comes into his lab every so often to force him to eat ("It's a silly distraction" was his response the first few days, but after he got extremely sick and had to stop working for a week, he caved in).

He's so very close to creating the object, a chip inserted into the body (preferably an arm) that activates the opposite gender DNA inside him. The chip will have to be connected to the DNA gathering gloves in a way so that way the chip activates the new DNA.

Loki needs to experiment this on something, but he doesn't want to risk it on an animal or any other person. So, the only person he can test it on is himself. So far, the computers detect 98% success for gender switching and 96% success for switching back to the original gender. Unfortunately, if the 2% of failure do occur, then Loki might destroy his body from the inside out. If the 4% of failure occurs, then Loki will be stuck his female form.

There's a low chance that he'll end up failing, so Loki take the chance, injecting the small chip into his arm, wincing as the device sinks its way inside the flesh of his arm. Now, it's time for activation. When he thinks of wanting to be a woman, his brain sends certain brain waves that the chip can detect. Once detected, the chip will activate and the female version of his DNA will override his body systems. It should take a mere two seconds for the transformation to be complete.

"I want to be a woman." Loki murmurs out loud as he thinks it, closing his eyes as he takes a deep breath.

He can feel his body switching and changing, breast growing, hips widening, sexual organs developing, Adam's apple getting smaller. He's turning into a woman! He's actually shapeshifting!

Loki must find a body length mirror now, he needs to see what he looks like. He runs out from his lab into the empty house, running into his bedroom and gasps at the sight of him.

Loki has to admit, he looks extremely sexy as a woman. His breast are bigger than expected, estimated D cup, and his hips are wide. He doesn't understand why he's so shapely, but he'll roll with it.

"Loki?"

The young man turns to face his doorway and spots his mother looking at him. A grin appears on her face as she recognizes her son's key feature: his beautiful green eyes.

"Mother, I did it." Loki says, eyes widening at the sound of his voice. He's so used to his usual tenor that this higher pitched British female voice is startling to say the least. "I can shift between me and my female counterpart."

"That's wonderful, Loki!"

Fury may have told him months ago that he's not fit for SHIELD work, but maybe that was for the best. He may not have come up with his unique shape shifting idea had he been part of SHIELD.

"I have to make some adjustments and see if I can shift into other human forms and then animal forms." Loki smiles sweetly and hugs his mom, who's in tears.

"Lokes, I'm so proud of you." Frigga grins through her tears, shaking in her son's arms.

"I know Mother. So am I."

Another two months pass by with no word from his brother or friends. That's when Loki gets worried. He himself has made enormous improvements to his shifting, now being able to shift into the form of his female self, Frigga, Odin, Thor, Fandral the cat, and Amora, his Thor-crazy next door neighbor. While the shapeshifting is an amazement, it won't do much in the battle field or in SHIELD. Loki won't ever be able to give up on his dream of being a SHIELD superhero. It's been his dream since he was a toddler and he doesn't ever want to change it.

So, to improve his chances in getting into SHIELD, he'll need a power that will cause damage. His mother gave him the idea on accident when she was complaining about how cloudy it is and how Odin has lost so much energy without the sun. Right then and there, Loki decided he'll be a living solar panel, but not just for solar energy. He'll be a solar panel for all forms of energy. He'll be able to suck the life out of objects, which is something that will certainly get him praise and get him into SHIELD.

A month into his studies, he gets interrupted by Black Widow and Iron Man crashing through his bedroom window. He's in his female form and very indecent, only wearing a towel to cover his naked semi-wet body.

"Oh my." Natasha exclaims, her face turning bright pink. "I didn't know Loki had gotten, um, a girl."

"Might I ask your name?" Tony says, removing his visor. That stupid smirk Loki hates appears on his face.

"You may ask, but that does not mean you will receive." Loki bites back, walking to his dresser. "What do you two want? I was sort of busy there."

"What? But we don't even know you." Natasha's voice tapers down as Loki removes his towel, his back facing the group. He's pretty sure Tony is gaping now.

"You do. Believe me." the green-eyed woman grabs a t-shirt and puts it on, walking back to the bed. "So, why isn't Clint with you, Tasha?"

"He's at SHIELD base, wait. Why am I telling you this? And how do you know who Clint is?"

"Just continue."

"Loki? Is that Natasha?"

"Loki? Where's Loki? Can we speak to him?" Tony asks, turning from Loki to the door where Frigga stands. Frigga opens her mouth and turns to Loki, who smirks and then Frigga sighs, shaking her head with laughter.

"He'll be out in a minute, just give him a little while longer." the woman explains before she leaves with Loki in tow. "Are you going to tell them?"

Loki shakes his head as he morphs back into his usual self, walking back into his room. He acts surprised when he sees the two heroes surrounded by the broken glass of his window.

"It's been a long time." Loki smiles and gives Natasha a hug. "Where's Clint?"

"He's at the SF SHIELD base, but he's extremely injured. We came to drop you off there so you can see him." Natasha's eyes water up. "Oh Lokes, it's so terrifying! One minute, you're safe and the next one, a Chitauri's coming after you."

"Makes me glad I'm safe here." Loki chuckles lightly, ignoring Tony's stares. "I'll go, let me just check up on something and then we can leave to see Clint."

"Loki, who was that girl?"

"Her? Oh, that's Samica." Loki smiles before he leaves the room and rushes down to his lab, locking up everything so it's safe before he joins his friend and Tony and head over to the San Francisco SHIELD base.

Clint is very much happy to see Loki as is Loki. The injured man tells his friend about his amazing adventures and the fun he's had with SHIELD. He talks about how SHIELD is creating a special group of superheroes called the Avengers, who will travel between the realms to stop the war sooner. So far, the superheroes of the Avengers (Earth's Mightest Heroes is their slogan) consists of Captain America, The Hulk, Thor (which Loki is proud of), Black Widow, Hawkeye and Iron Man. Loki congratulates his friends on their acceptance, but Natasha tells him that since they'll be traveling a lot, they won't be able to visit as often.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Loki reassures his friends. "I can take care of myself and my mother and Odin. Everything will be ok."

And everything is. Stark, Tasha and Clint leave for New York a week later and Loki is free to continue working on his energy sapping device. So far, it's been a golden scepter with a blue orb in the middle. That glowing blue orb contains the energy. When Loki holds onto the scepter, the energy courses through the staff and into his body. Inside his body, he's created a device that converts the energy into raw matter that he can then manipulate and conjure up, almost like magic.

He's been trying to change the color of the raw matter from green to gold, but so far, that hasn't happened yet.

And, he doesn't have to wear gloves anymore. He's installed the DNA collectors into his fingers. Unfortunately, in order to get DNA, Loki has to touch objects with his hands and he's not a touching person nor a people person. One reason why he stays indoors all the time.

"Mother, I'm going to go test for SHIELD again." Loki calls in his Samica form, adjusting his green skirt. The golden armor rests on his shoulders and his golden specter glows bright blue, reflecting off his golden horned helmet. "Hopefully, I'll get in this time. Six months should give Fury plenty of time to decide wether or not I should be a part of SHIELD."

Frigga wishes her son luck and he leaves the house, heading on over to the SF SHIELD base.

Loki's extremely surprised when it's not only Nick Fury testing him, but also Tony Stark. They don't recognize at first that he's Loki because he's Samica now. But Stark certainly does later on.

"Hey, you're Loki's girlfriend, Samica!" Stark exclaims when Loki enters the room, green cape and all.

"As a matter of fact, I am." Loki drawls, holding on tightly to his scepter. Fury is eyeing him carefully and he needs to look and act superior. Make Fury want him to be a part of SHIELD. "It is nice to meet you in a more professional situation." Tony's face turns bright red and he turns to the papers on his desk. "Let's start with introductions. I'm Samica." Loki tries his best to hold in his smirk as Stark shakes his hand. He can feel the jolt and a twitch of his arm as he receives Stark's DNA. Oh this is just wonderful! He turns to Fury with a cock of the head. "And you are?"

"Director Fury. Stark and I will be the ones to test your abilities and see if you have the capabilities to be a superhero."

"Oh, I don't think you'll need to test for that." Loki smirks as he activates his chip morphing into Stark, who's jaw drops. Fury raises his eyebrow and Loki nods his head.

"So, you can shapeshift." Fury writes something down and Stark still gapes.

"You. You turned into me." Loki resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Damn do I look good." Now, he has no choice but to roll them.

"Enough staring at your reflection vain. Samica, turn back to normal." Loki proceeds to do so at Fury's orders. "Now, it seems as if you already have a superhero persona. Is there anything else you can do? That glowing staff isn't just for ornament, is it?"

Loki shakes his head, pointing his specter at a training dummy before he shoots a ray of green energy at it, the object exploding into pieces.

"Whoa!" Stark exclaims, obviously impressed. "That's almost like me!"

"Do you want to test that?" Loki asks, placing a hand on his hip. Stark eagerly gets in his suit and strolls over to him, getting into a fighting stance. Loki brings up some of the energy stored in his scepter and immediately shoots Stark with it, knocking the Avenger down before he grabs his scepter and runs toward Iron Man, who jumps out of the way, but Loki turns and shoots from his scepter, knocking down a training dummy, blocking Stark. He shapeshifts into a cat and runs, dropping his scepter and pops up behind his opponent morphed as Samica and gets ready to shoot when Iron Man turns and shoots as well, causing Loki to duck.

Once again, the green-eyed man takes the form of a cat and runs to his scepter, morphing back into Samica as he grabs his scepter and blasts at Stark, who deflects it with his own ray. Loki once more morphs into a cat and instead jumps atop Stark's back before he turns back into Samica and shoots at Stark's feet, knocking him down before he grabs his scepter and points it at the fallen Iron Man.

"So, I guess I win." Loki smiles before he turns toward Fury who has on an approving smile. Seems like Loki will finally get into SHIELD.

Five days later, he gets his letter of acceptance. Frigga spends the day crying about Loki leaving and Odin just gives a small congrats before he goes back to his office.

"Don't get yourself killed, Lokes!" she cries, Loki almost in tears himself.

"I won't Mother. I'll help SHIELD stop this long war. I'm with the Avengers now, so Tasha and Clint will help protect me." Loki kisses his mother's cheek before he morphs into Samica.

At the SF base, Loki greets Fury and Stark, who take him through a tour of the base, explaining how it works. Alas, most of his time will be spent in New York, which is exactly where he's going next. The SHIELD superhero wants to surprise his friends, but he's Samica now, not Loki, and they don't know that the two are the same person.

"Do you have a super hero name?" Stark asks on the plane ride, turning to Loki.

"No. Not yet. I'll probably need one, won't I, Stark?" Loki hums a little at the end of his sentence.

"How about-"

"Ignotum. That's a good name."

"Um, no." Stark shakes his head. "You're a shapeshifter, not a Harry Potter spell. You'll need something better that describes you." Stark all of a sudden perks up. "Your boyfriend, well, he tested for SHIELD as well. He didn't get in mostly because of me." Loki hides his burst of anger with a curt nod. "I-I, well, we have history. Long complicated history and Fury didn't want any drama between his superheroes. Especially since I'm one for drama."

"Drama?" Loki certainly didn't think Stark and he had enough drama to be distracting or destructive. Stark did save his life from that burning building in New York. That doesn't seem like drama.

"Yeah, drama. It's nothing complicated for him, it's me that's all screwed up." Stark puts his face in his hands with a groan. "I'm getting off track. I-we, as in Natasha, Clint and I came up with a superhero persona for him and a name as well. Maybe you can use it."

"Oh. Is that so?"

"Yeah. I'm sure it'll work perfectly." Stark grins and Loki rolls his eyes.

"No need to give me the name you would use for him." Loki waves a hand in a passing manner. "Give me a new one; I'm not a Loki clone."

"Can you shapeshift into him?" Stark asks excitedly, his smile drawn all over his face, even in his eyes.

Loki raises an eyebrow. Why would Stark be so pleased to know if he can turn into himself?

"Yeah, but-"

"Could you do it? I know you're not him, but it would be reassuring to think that maybe he's come here himself. Even in your body as DNA." Stark's face heats up a little and Loki blushes a bit himself.

"Sure." He morphs into his regular form and looks away from Tony.

"Wow, it looks so real!" Tony touches Loki's hair as if he can't believe it's real. "You look exactly like him, Samica. Exactly like him." Loki bites his lip as Stark starts twisting his face around to look at him. Loki really wants to bark at Tony to get him to stop inspecting him, but he doesn't to drag any attention toward himself.

"You can stop that now, Stark."

"By all nine realms, you even sound like him." Tony smirks lightly and pulls away. "Must have fun with him being able to change forms." Loki's face turns bright red as he crosses his arms.

"I would do no such thing, Stark."

"Sure you wouldn't." Tony leans back in his seat. "If you feel uncomfortable, you can switch back to your normal form." Loki shakes his head. There's a possibility that if he stays too long in his other forms, he might get stuck.

"I'm comfortable in this form." Loki replies quietly. Stark gives him a soft warm smile before they lapse into an odd yet comfortable silence. If only Stark knew who he was. "So, what's being an Avenger like?"

"It's great! Traveling to Asgard can be a real pain at times. The Bifrost sometimes locks up. The good thing is that they believe Thor is their prince." Loki raises an eyebrow but says no more. "That's one reason why he hasn't been visiting you much." Loki smiles a bit at Stark's slip. "I'm sure he'll be happy to know that at least Lokes' girlfriend is here."

"Yes, I'm quite sure of that." and now, Loki really wants to tell Stark, because it's obvious that Stark misses him and feels bad for being a jackass because his jackassery caused Loki not to get accepted in the first place. But, Loki hates Stark and no matter how wrong it seems to leave the guilty billionaire in the dark, he's going to have to do that.

The team lands in New York and Loki switches to his Samica form before he greets his friends. Natasha is surprised to see Samica there, and Clint keeps trying to hit on Loki until To-Stark butts in and reprimands Clint for hitting on Loki's girlfriend, which in turn confuses Thor because he thought Loki was gay, which sets Loki's face on fire and Clint gets pissed (Loki's excuses for not going out with Clint were that he's not gay).

All in all, everyone is surprised to see Samica.

"So, a shapeshifter." Natasha raises an eyebrow as the group walks into the New York SHIELD base.

"Yes." Loki nods, his cape flowing behind him like his rich black hair. If he must admit, he actually likes being in his counterpart female form. "And I collect energy in my scepter." Loki points to the blue orb and the others nod.

"She's a great fighter." Stark adds in, giving Loki a nudge and a smile. Loki scoffs, but nudges back. It's almost as if he never left. As if he never broke Stark's heart when he left and Stark didn't break his.

Oh yes. That's probably one reason why Stark turned into such an ass. And why the fool tried to hump him when Loki visited. And probably why Fury didn't want Loki as a part of SHIELD.

"So, Loki's doing alright back in San Fran, right? He's probably all abandoned with all his friends and family in SHIELD." Clint sighs heavily.

Loki really shouldn't hide this from his friends, his best friends. They should have the right to know that Loki is Samica, that he's with them right now and they are all achieving their dreams as planned (of course, having Loki have to sneak in as someone else wasn't a part of the plan, but oh well).

And he shouldn't lie to Stark either. They used to be best friends (and secret boyfriends, but that's way in the past, Loki himself doesn't like to acknowledge that). So what they broke up when Loki moved? Loki's completely over Stark. The only reason Loki hates Stark now is because he's such an ass and a rude inconsiderate jerk who probably never even liked Loki in the first place.

It's who Stark is, it's what money turned him into. And Loki's accepting that as best as he can: by ignoring Stark and acting as if they were never friends. Stark's doing the same, so why not play his game?

"He said he'll be fine." Loki murmurs quietly. "I think Loki is just happy that his friends are achieving their dreams. He may not be with them, but they'll be heroes and he'll help support them in anyway." Even by turning into a shapeshifter so he can join his friends under a different name.

Loki sighs and continues walking, wishing he could've just spoken those words. He locks eyes with Natasha and they each exchange sorrowful smiles. The guilt is eating away at him.

"Hey, Loki..."

"What?" Loki snaps at Stark, turning to face the shorter man. That's when he realizes that he responded to Loki. He's not supposed to respond to that name! "I may look like my boyfriend when I morph into him, but that doesn't give you the right to through around his name like confetti because you're not the only one who's missing him right now!" That should be convincing enough. It takes a couple seconds for Loki to realize his slip, but by then, it's too late.

Stark latches onto Loki's words and his eyes widen. He stops in his tracks and doesn't continue walking as the rest of the group does. Loki stops only because he doesn't hear the familiar thumping of Stark's walking. When he turns, he finds Stark against the wall with his head in his hands.

Loki quietly runs over to him, making sure the rest of the group doesn't notice. He doesn't know why he's running to the man he despises. He doesn't know why he sits beside him and takes of his helmet.

But he does know one thing: why he morphs into his normal form, into Loki.

"You bastard." Stark mumbles and Loki lets out a quiet chuckle. "You fucking son of the devil. That's what you are, you know?"

"I am sorry to be seen in such a light in your eyes." Loki says, pulling his knees to his chest. "But, it was necessary, Stark."

"Necessary?" Stark looks up and his eyes are red with tears. Loki fidgets with his fingers. "Fuck Loki, I don't even know what to say."

"Then don't say a thing." the green eyed hero stands up, putting his helmet back on. "It's a secret, so keep it that way."

"Do they know?" Loki shakes his head. "I would've thought that Tasha and Clint would pick up on our break up reference."

"They don't know all the details like we do, Stark."

"Loki-"

"Stark, it was a slip. I did not intend to refer to our break up, I was just trying to cover up." Loki spits, glaring at the other man. "You're the only one who knows and it's going to stay that way."

"You don't know how much I've-"

"My sentiments, exactly, Stark. You don't know how much I've wanted to see you either. Which is never, if you want to get down to the details." Loki crosses his arms. "You and I, Tony and Loki, we're over. That ship has sailed and if you're still on it, jump off board and get on a new one, Stark."

"Loki, I can't! I'm tied to the ship like a prisoner."

"Cut your chains off or something! You're Iron Man! You can do anything!"

"Iron Man isn't the one who's tied to the Tony/Loki ship! Tony Stark is! My heart is tied to the ship, and Loki, I don't care if yours isn't, mine will always be tied to our ship even if my body jumps onto another one!"

And in that moment, Loki realizes that he's thought about their relationship all wrong. He always thought he loved Stark more, but it was always the other way around. Tony didn't want to break up, Loki did. Tony ended it, yes, but he probably didn't want to. Loki's moved on, he's dated a couple girls and liked them. Tony started sleeping with other people to try to forget Loki. He tried to become someone else to forget Loki.

In that precious moment, Loki realizes that he wanted to break up with Tony because he didn't think he could ever love Tony as much as the blasted fool loved, and still loves, him. And now, Tony's ruined his life with alcohol and girls and money. Yes, he's a great superhero, and it's his dream come true, but it didn't have to be this way.

"Tony, I..." Loki trails off, looking away from his ex. "I don't...I'm sorry." Loki looks at him and bites his lip. "I'm sorry I can never love you as much. I don't understand how you feel and I never will. And we've both been asses for trying to avoid the truth when it's right in front of us."

"The truth?" Tony echoes, sniffling a bit.

"Yes. I've avoided the truth, but I understand it now. As for you, you need to accept that I can't ever love you as much as you do me. Tony, we can't work."

"Loki, I don't care if you don't love me as much as I do you, I just want to be with you and make you happy." Tony takes Loki's hands in his own. "I know you won't understand, but it hurts more to know that we could have worked than to never know. And I wished I never knew, but I do, so, could you at least try?"

"Stark, loving somebody also means you sometimes have to let them go."

"I'm no ordinary person, you should know that."

"Let me go Stark."

"It won't happen, Loki."

"I'm sorry."

The black-haired man curtly nods before he turns and starts walking away, eyes squeezed closed.

3...

2...

1...

"Wait!"

Loki's brain is telling him to walk away, but a part of him, he's not sure which part, wants to run back to Tony. He doesn't do either and stands still as Tony runs to him, grabs his arm and turns him around, smashing his lips against Loki's, causing the green-eyed man to drop his scepter, the loud clang of the staff hitting the ground echoing through the hall.

Loki must admit, he's been missing this. Kissing Sif never had the same feeling, the same jolt of energy. Kissing anyone doesn't amount to the taste and the glorious feeling accompanied with kisses from Tony.

He shouldn't be feeling this way at all. He shouldn't be letting his buried lust for the billionaire come out and make his decisions.

"No, stop." Loki pants, pulling away from the confused Tony. "I can't do this, we can't do this. There's a reason why Fury didn't want me as a part of SHIELD."

"Only because of me, Lokes."

Loki shakes his head, tears in his eyes.

"No, it's not because of you." Loki pushes Tony further away. "I've told you, we don't work."

Loki grabs his scepter and runs away from Stark, tears in his eyes. Tony still loves him, but it makes no sense. Loki is a bit of an ass at times and he was the one who brought up the breakup, so why is Tony still head over heels for him?

"Bastard," Loki cries, running aimlessly through the halls, rushing past black clad agents until he runs straight into Natasha, knocking her to the ground.

"Loki?"

Loki stops at the sound of his name and quickly morphs into Samica, turning to Natasha. In the back of his mind, Loki's asking himself why he's not letting Tasha find out that he's really Loki.

"Natasha." Loki grins, rubbing at his eyes. "I was looking for you, I got sidetracked."

"Sidetracked? Where's Tony?"

Loki holds down his blush as he shrugs.

"I don't know."

Natasha sighs, resting a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Don't get wooed by him. Tony has charms, and don't tell him I said this, but he's really handsome. I don't want you to wake up in his bed one day, understand?"

"You think I don't know this, Natasha? He's all over the news! Everyone knows that he sleeps with whoever he can get his paws on."

"Good. I don't want you to get caught and added to his lists of lays." Natasha smiles as she walks away. "The others are up ahead to the right."

Loki sighs and walks on through the halls, an empty feeling in his chest.

The next day, he meets the rest of his team members, the other heroes of the Avengers: Bruce Banner, Thor Odinson and Steve Rodgers with the superhero personas of the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America respectively. He spends the day touring and completely avoids Stark the whole time, which Stark seems to be doing as well. Fury must be noticing this tension because he calls for a meeting with Loki toward the end of the day.

"He knows, doesn't he?" Fury spits, his one eye glaring at Loki.

"Knows what?" Loki asks innocently, clutching his scepter tighter. He didn't know Fury knew about who he really is. Wait, of course Fury would know.

"You know what I'm talking about, bitch." Fury hisses, slamming his fist onto the table. "You let Stark know of your real identity. You let him know you're Loki."

"And what is so important about this fact that makes you have to talk to me?"

Loki holds in a smirk as Fury gets angrier. He's acting like a total ass right now, but he doesn't care. Not one bit.

"You and Stark have history and I don't want any of it to get in the way of the team. You're an Avenger now, Loki. You have responsibilities to hold up and I don't want your stupid fucking conflict with Stark to disrupt anything."

"Fury, must I inform you that Stark is the one with the issues?" Loki adjusts his helmet as he starts pacing in the room. "Stark is the one who is deeply in love with me. I have gotten over him. If you really want no issues, you talk to him. I have nothing to say to the man, so don't make me have to."

And with those final words, Loki storms out of the room, morphing into his Samica form. There is nothing between him and Stark. They are over. Why is he the only one who gets that?


	2. Chapter 2

"So, today's the day you get to come with us to Asgard." Clint smiles, hanging off of Loki's arm. Loki smiles sweetly as the group hangs out in the helicopter. "Thor should introduce you to Odin and Frigga, Samica."

"They have the same name as my parents." Thor smiles at Loki, who nods in response. "After the visit, we should go visit Loki. It's been a month since you've joined. I am sure my brother misses us terribly."

Loki freezes and feels Stark's eyes on him. He doesn't respond to Stark's obvious concern and instead smiles at Thor.

"Yes, I'm sure Loki misses us very dearly." Loki replies, humming as Clint drags him over to a seat. "I can't wait to see him either."

The raven haired man plays with Clint's brown locks as the man sits between his legs. Clint's the only one besides Tony who knows Loki's secret. He entered Loki's room on a whim in the midst of the man changing forms. Loki decided he was tired of hiding all the time, so he told Clint the truth.

Clint promised not to tell anyone, which made Loki pleased. He knows Natasha and the others would be upset that Loki never told them and they found out from Clint.

One thing that surprises Loki is that when the group crosses the Bifrost, his Samica form disappears and he's stuck as Loki. He can't morph into any other form right now.

"Samica, why are you in Loki's form?" Thor asks stupidly, Steve and Bruce nodding in agreement.

"I feel comfortable in this form." Loki smiles and presses himself closer to Clint, who gives him a worried look. "Aren't you going to introduce me to Odin and Frigga?"

Thor nods and drags the group toward a huge gold castle, a castle that amazes Loki with it's grandeur and splendor. To be honest, Loki never thought he would travel through the realms and he's liking it quite a bit.

Maybe a bit too much for it to be normal.

Loki finds it incredibly hard to keep his eyes off the golden castle in front of him shimmering brightly in the day light. Tony chuckles beside him and they share a quick smile before Loki remembers he's supposed to be mad at Stark.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Loki grins as he turns to his brother with bright eyes. "They actually think you're their prince?"

"That is true. Once Odin and Frigga learn of my relationship with Loki, he'll be deemed a prince of Asgard as well."

Loki nods and follows the others, watching armor clad men and women stroll by. It's so old fashioned looking, but beautiful. He's never seen anything so spectacular. And that's saying something from a man who takes a lot of pride in his work.

"Hawkeye, you take Samica and the others to the guest chambers. As for I, I will talk with Frigga and Odin before we have our talk." Thor says, smiling at the Avengers.

"Alright, this way." Clint pulls away from Loki and walks in the direction west of the golden castle. "Now, for the newcomer, Samica here, once a week, us Avengers go to every one of the nine realms. There's Asgard, home of the Aesir and Asynjur; Midgard, which you know of already; Jotunheim, land of the Jotun frost giants; Vanaheim, land of the Vanir; Alfheim where the light elves live; Svartalfheim, home of the dark elves; Nidavellir, home of the dwarves; Niflheim, the first realm; and Muspelheim where the fire people dwell."

"Barton, I already know this." Loki says, but a finger from Clint keeps him from saying anymore.

"I know you know this, Samica. Fury probably told you to study up." Loki nods in response. "Anyway, our job is to travel to all the realms through the Bifrost and Yggdrasil and keep them under control."

"Under control?" Loki turns to Clint from staring at the golden castle.

"There are some issues of racism that's sparking tension between the realms. The Chitauri are attacking Earth right now, but they will find their way up to these realms and things will get really messy." Clint continues. "As the dictators of Midgard, we participate in monthly meetings where we inform the leaders of the realms on the status of the realms and of the war back down on Midgard. Laufey, the Jotunheim king, tends to pick fights with Odin. They're sworn enemies or something."

"Enemies." Loki repeats the word. "Why would you put two enemies together in the same room?"

"We have to deal with the consequences." Bruce shrugs. "It's annoying, but we get a lot of work done. I think today is just a meeting with Odin and Frigga. Laufey said he was busy."

"Oh? What about the others?"

"The others as in?"

"The kings of the other realms. You know, Hreidmar and Freyr. Are they attending this meeting?"

Clint turns to Natasha, who shrugs in response.

"We would have to ask Thor for that." Natasha replies quietly. "Right now, we should focus on getting you settled in. Tony and Samica, follow Clint. Bruce, Steve and I are heading back to the castle to find Thor."

Loki stiffens dramatically and wonders if Natasha somehow found out that he's Loki and so she wants him and Tony to talk and have Clint there for supervision. He turns to her, but her face is as blank as a sheet of paper. She always had the best poker face, hence why it took so long for them to be friends.

"That's fine." Loki mutters, watching Natasha and Bruce walk off, the red-headed agent giving the three one more look as if worried before leaving Loki's sight. "So, um, where do we stay?"

"We stay right here in these chambers." Clint smiles and strolls into a large mansion looking building. It's not as gold as the castle, but just as spectacular and beautiful. "So-"

"Natasha knows." Tony crosses his arms with his helmet in hand and Loki turns to him with a snarl. "It wasn't me. Well, it was me, but not on purpose. I know when to keep a secret."

"Oh, you do?" Loki raises an unamused eyebrow, getting a frown from his friends. "How did she find out since you didn't tell her on purpose."

"Fury wanted to talk to me. He told me to stay away from you so we don't start any drama." a rough hand runs through the man's dark locks. "Natasha burst into the meeting as Fury was yelling at me about Loki being Samica. She was very hurt."

Loki looks down at the ground, feeling his heart clench painfully. So that's why she's been so stiff lately.

"Why do you suddenly bring this up in front of me?" Clint exclaims. "What if I didn't know?"

"It's a good thing you did." Stark replies tensely. "Loki, you need to tell the others. You can't imagine the amount of pain that was on Tasha's face when she heard those words coming from a mouth that was not yours. The secret's gonna come out sometime and I'm not going to be sorry if I accidentally let it loose."

"You should be." the black-haired man snaps.

"Why? You're the one hiding it from your friends, your _best friends_. Don't they deserve to know?"

"My best friends already know. They are the only ones who need to know."

"What about Thor?" Clint speaks up. "He's your brother, Lokes. You're a prince of Asgard. You can't keep this inside. This work, our work as Avengers lasts until we fucking die. The longer you wait, the more it's gonna hurt when he finds out."

"You think I don't already know this?" Loki cries out. "I've been an Avenger for a month already! I've fought alongside all of you for a month. Each time I try, I freeze up. I know how much I mean to Thor and I know that he'll be upset that I didn't tell him."

"So, just fucking do it! It's not that hard!"

"Yeah, and then somehow I'll have to tell him that he was the last to know."

"You got yourself into this Loki." Stark puts his Iron Man helmet on. "You gotta get yourself out."

And with that, Iron Man shoots up into the air and leaves Clint and Loki by their chambers.

"Fuck you too!" Loki shouts at the sky, but of course, the other man can't hear him.

"He's telling the truth you know. He's not being rude just because he's still hurt about the break up." Clint puts an hand on Loki's arm. "Let's go to the castle. I'm sure the others are waiting for us."

Indeed the other Avengers are waiting by the time they reach the castle. Thor is grinning widely, but there's something in his eyes. Something that's freaking Loki out if he must admit. The green-eyed man suddenly wonders if Thor found out about him being Loki. But, if that was true, then wouldn't Thor be talking to him right now or look more somber? Thor was never the best liar after all. That was, and still is, Loki's specialty.

"Samica and Clint! We have been waiting for you!" the blonde prince exclaims as happily as ever. "The meeting will begin now that you are here!"

Loki node tensely, ignoring Stark beside him, Clint in front of him, and Natasha behind him. She is staring daggers at him right now. Loki's very glad SHIELD didn't give her laser vision.

"Allfather." Thor bends down on one knee and bows, so Loki and the others do the same. "Today, King Laufey of Jotunheim can not make this meeting. He has urgent matters to attend to at his home land."

"Many a king has urgent matters, yet we all make it to this important meeting." Odin says, standing up. Thor stands as well. "Has he told you of the reason why he would be so late?"

Loki watches Thor tense up. The reason why Laufey can't make it probably has something to do with that look in Thor's eyes that freaked Loki out.

"He said he-"

The doors to the main room burst open, causing everyone in the room to turn. A large blue giant stand in the doorway, covered in gold and piercings and a loincloth. Thick black hair rolls down his head in a braid. His red eyes are burning bright and boring into Loki's green ones. The young Avenger wants to hide in a corner, but instead he stands up straighter and holds his head up high, challenging the stare of the blue man.

"Laufey, what has caused you to burst into the meeting as so?" Odin asks. Loki can hear the burning hatred in the Allfather's voice. Laufey can as well for he snarls and takes his eyes off Loki for a second to glare at Odin.

"Your people." the giant spits, stepping toward the god. All the Avengers freeze and watch the two glare at each other.

"Do they always do this?" Loki asks quietly.

"Yeah, it sucks." Stark responds.

"My people?" Odin frowns. "What have they done to make you act so disrespectful?"

"Did your golden son not tell you?" Loki perks up to turn to Thor, who's bowing his head down, shaggy blonde hair in his face. Since when was Thor their son? "Your idiot Aesirs decided to kill my sons!"

Everyone in the room gasps and Loki turns around, watching Odin pale, Frigga fall into her seat, Thor look up with pity, and the other kings exchange glances. How could anyone do this?

Laufey's steps get faster and heavier, fists clenched around the handle if something. A knife? Dagger? _There are some issues of racism that's sparking tension between the realms. Laufey, the Jotunheim king, tends to pick fights with Odin. They're sworn enemies or something._

Before Loki can stop himself, he jumps out in front of Laufey, stopping the king from launching an attack on Odin. Laufey tumbles to the ground with Loki, who jerks at the DNA his chips are collecting. There's something different about it this time. Almost similar to when he got the DNA of the Chitauri that one battle. This time though it feels deeper and more personal as if it's awakening something in him instead of adding more to his being the way DNA collection usually goes.

"I want my son back!" Laufey yells, shoving Loki to the side. The man flies through the air and hits the ground, hacking violently in response.

"Loki!" Tony cries out, rushing to the fallen Avenger's side. "Loki? Are you okay?"

Green eyes fly open and Tony smiles, taking the other man into a hug.

"Let go of me, Tony." Loki hisses, wincing in pain as he gets off the ground. He ignores the looks from Steve, Bruce and Thor and runs to Laufey, who looks prepared to kill Odin. "Stop this nonsense _now_!"

His voice echoes through the hall, a voice loud and clear. The voice of a king. _Or a prince._ Laufey turns to Loki as does everyone else in the hall.

"I did not come here from Midgard to participate in a fight!" Loki turn to Laufey with a glare. "This needs to stop now!" Green eyes lock on the blues of the Allfather. "Keep your people under control. And you," the man turns back to the frost giant, "come to the meetings. The death of your only sons may be disheartening, but the Chitauri are trying to get to Yggdrasil to tear her apart branch for branch to destroy the realms, starting with Midgard. This is what concerns us most, so focus on it."

Silence raids the hall and Loki wonders if interrupting the verbal fight was a smart thing to do. Laufey reaches his arm toward Loki, grabbing the young man's arm. Loki pulls back, but the king tightens his grip on his arm. Everyone starts gasping and Laufey smiles wickedly. Loki on the other hand is confused.

"How long were you going to take before you told him?" the question is directed toward Odin, but the blue giant continues staring at Loki, who's freaking out a bit. "I said, _how long were you going to take before you told him?!_"

"Wait, you mean that's Loki?" Steve blurts, eyes wide. "I thought-"

"I _am_ Loki!" Loki yanks his arm from Laufey's grip and turns to his fellow Avengers, who stare at him with awe. "I've always been Loki."

"Then why not tell me, brother?" Thor says tightly. "I wouldn't have told anyone."

"I know. I kept meaning to tell you-"

"You didn't trust us enough to not Tony, even though he already knew!" Natasha grits her teeth. "I am your best friend! How can you believe I will tell him if you ask me not to?"

"You didn't ever go to my house and visit when we had plenty of time to."

"We didn't go because I already _knew_ you were Samica. Back when Clint was hurt. You wore nothing but a shirt like Samica did. The _same_ shirt. I've just been waiting for you to fess up."

"I-" Loki turns away from his friends, guilt consuming his heart.

"Allfather! The giants are attacking Asgard!"

Odin stands quickly and Laufey smiles evilly before running off.

"Prepare for war!" Odin bellows. An arrow flies by Loki and he dodges it, running to his friends, who are stiff near him.

"I swear I am going to kill him." Loki spits, jerking as Thor grabs his arm. "What is it, Thor? I need stop Laufey before he kills someone important."

"Brother..." Thor murmurs, tears in his eyes. "Why do you look like this vile creature?"

"Look like what?" Loki snorts. "I look just like myseee-"

The young man freezes as he gets a look at his arm. His blue patterned arm. He touches his face and feels the patterns on his skin, the rough raised skin against the smooth lighter blue. He tries to change forms, to go back to being Loki instead of Laufey, but the magic of the realm isn't allowing him to do so. Which means he currently is Loki.

This is his true form.

"What? I didn't switch forms. I didn't..." Loki trails off and looks at Odin, who bears a frown.

_I want my son back! Blue patterned skin. It feels deeper and more personal as if it's awakening something in him instead of adding more to his being the way DNA collection usually goes._

"I-" the frost giant turns to Thor. "So, you're really a god?" Thor nods, letting his tears fall. "What am I then? What lie have I been living my whole life?"

"Tell him, Father." Thor says, stepping away from Loki. "Avengers, follow me. We must contain the giants and help save Asgard."

The group nods and Stark sends Loki a sympathetic look before they exit the room. The red-eyed man snarls as he turns to Odin.

"Tell. Me. Everything."

* * *

"Were you ever planning on tell him?" Clint asks as the Avengers run through the castle recruiting warriors.

"Possibly, but not in this situation." Thor replies, calling on his hammer. "I didn't want him to know that this whole time I've been his guardian angel, not his brother, but Father and Mother wanted it that way, so I agreed."

"Man, that must suck." Tony replies, flying through the air. "Hey, I see some Jotuns over here."

"Take 'em out." Clint says over the intercom. "Thor and I are heading east closer to the border. Be careful and if you find Laufey, don't kill him."

"What? Why not?"

"Just do as is told, Tony."

"You know I can't do that."

"Just try," Natasha enters the conversation with a huff. "Cap, Bruce and I are going west."

"Alright then." Tony flies down to the ground and lands, gathering the attention of the giants who are in the midst of killing some people. "Hey! That's so uncool! Killing people just for fun? I understand you've got your racial issues, but you don't have to break their backs and shit."

One of the giants takes a step toward Tony and the mortal man shoots at it, blasting through the creatures leg, blue blood gushing from the wound.

"See? That's what happens when you kill innocents. Now, go on back-"

"Tony! We need you right now!"

Tony freezes at the sound of his intercom and gets smacked into the air, smashing into a building.

"Damn it!" he curses as he gets back onto his feet. "I'll be there in a second, Tasha."

Blasting into the air, Iron Man flies west, heading over to Black Widow, Captain America, and the Hulk. They're struggling to keep the giants at bay and away from the city entrance. Shooting at a giant, Iron Man greets his fellow Avnegers.

"Have any of you seen Loki?" Tony asks over the intercom, dodging a blue fist.

"No, no sight of the Jotun." Black Widow replies, shooting at her enemy. "You should go look for him."

"I don't think I'm the best guy for that. He and I aren't the best of friends right now."

"I'm not going, I'm still angry at him."

"Cap, do you want to go look for Loki?"

"I'm not close to him. We've only know each other for a month, Tony. I doubt I'll be able to comfort him."

"Whoa! Who said anything about comfort?" Tony shoots at a giant. "I'm just gonna look for him so I don't accidentally kill him."

"Dude, he just found out he's a fucking frost giant. His whole life has been a lie." Clint enters the conversation. "I would go, but I'm busy here."

"Like I'm not busy too."

"If you see Laufey on the way, I give you permission to kill him."

"On my way to search for Loki." Tony pulls away from the fight. "Let the giants into town. Sif and the Warriors Three will help take care of them."

"Copy." Natasha grunts.

Tony takes his leave and flies as fast possible to the golden castle. He's still pissed at Loki for many things like bringing up the topic of the break up and lying to his best friends. Yet, he still loves the younger man despite his flaws. Now, he feels nothing but sympathy for Loki. Tony himself doesn't know how he'd take it if someone told him his whole life was a lie.

Yeah, it hurt like fucking hell when Loki asked Tony if maybe they could take a break some odd years back before Loki moved, and yeah, he was distraught and felt played. But this? This is completely different. Tony can set aside his undying love for the guy and provide completely friendly sympathy for him. If Loki allows it though.

On occasion, Tony wonders if he should've never told Loki about his crush. They would probably still be friends, even better friends than Loki and Natasha, which is saying something. Plus, it was just a crush. It would've gone away soon, but it didn't because Loki was harboring romantic feelings for Tony himself. And so started their 3 year relationship.

"Hey! Lokes!" Tony calls flying down to a blue creature who's shooting icicles at the air. The being turns and Tony sighs with relief. If that wasn't Loki, he'd be screwed.

"What do you want?" Loki spits, turning his back to Tony.

"I'm here to talk to you about-"

"I don't want to talk to you about anything, Stark." An icicle flies by. "Leave me alone."

"No. I'm not going." That gets Loki to turn. Iron Man takes off his helmet. "I'm here on my own terms as a friend. Not an ex trying to get back his boyfriend, and while that might be nice, it's not what I'm here for." Loki sends Tony a glare and turns away. "You can tell me what Odin said."

"I know I can, but that doesn't mean I want to." Loki sighs after shooting more icicles. "Where's Natasha?"

"She's pissed at you so she's staying away so she doesn't kill you."

Loki shudders at that. "And Clint's busy fighting with Thor, so-"

"Thor." Loki spits with hatred. Tony's surprised at how harsh the Jotun sounds. "He wasn't even my brother! He's a fucking Norse god, damnit!" Tony doesn't speak and lets Loki rant. "I'm a fucking bastard, a runt of the litter Laufey ditched because I wasn't giant like my siblings." Loki turns to Tony with tear brimmed blood red eyes. "I'm a monster. You don't know the horrible stories they tell the kids here. Everyone hates me and I haven't even done anything yet but be this disgusting thing."

"Hatin' yourself already?" Tony chastises the younger man. "C'mon, don't submit to the evil rumors! You're not one of them. You're a Midgardian like me and Natasha."

"You know you're lying through your teeth, Stark."

"No, I'm not."

"I can't be Midgardian and a demigod."

"You're a demigod?" Tony gasps excitedly, causing Loki to turn to him with confusion. "That's amazing! You're beautiful and blue and part god!"

"Keep the compliments to yourself."

"Stop _hating_, Loki. You're an amazing guy and I know it hurts that Thor lied to you for 24 years, but it was for a good reason, right?"

"I'm physically 24 in Midgard and Asgardian years, but technically 624 in Midgard years."

"Then why do you look 24 and not 624?"

"Because I aged physically in terms of Asgard on Midgard. It was a spell the Allfather put on me so I'd look more human." Loki pouts. "Odin took me, adopted me and then sent me to Midgard so he wouldn't have to worry about me, so when the secret comes out he can say 'that's not my son'. Odin had Thor be my guardian so if I accidentally awaken my true form, he'll take me to Asgard and shit."

"That's..." Tony's at a loss for words. His dad was never so evil enough to send him away and have him live his life as a lie. While Howard was never the best dad, he totally wins 'best dad of the year' compared to Odin.

"Horrid? I know. And I thought Earth Odin was bad."

"About that. Was that really Odin and Frigga on Earth?"

"Illusions. Spells. They were fake." Tony puts a hand on Loki's shoulder, ignoring the coldness that washes through his body at the touch. Loki doesn't pull away, so Tony guesses the god is either too distracted or actually welcomes the touch.

"Can you do magic, too?"

"Don't know. Odin never mentioned anything about that. I assume I can since I am officially Odin's son and Thor can use magic as well, in the form of his hammer of course."

"This is all way too much information at one time." Tony shakes his head and Loki chuckles. "You are a god."

"Demigod to be exact, but yes, a god."

"You're a blue frost giant demigod from Jotunheim and the only living son of Laufey."

"Runt. Frost giant runt."

"Ok. You're an orphaned frost giant runt who has an ass for a stepdad, an evil giant for a biological dad, an unknown mother-"

"My mother is Farbauti, a giantess. I was conceived by a strike of lightning Laufey created, hence why I am a demigod instead of a full blood giant." Loki turns to Tony with a smile. "I am the god of fire and the god of mischief."

"This is awesome! As soon as you get your magic, you've got to show me!"

"Who knows if it will ever come. I already have my powers that I made myself. I think the insertion of the technology has deactivated my magic."

"Then take it out or something. You can use magic, dude. That's amazing."

Loki snorts and turns away, shooting a couple icicles at nothing.

Tony smiles in the calm comfortable silence between the two. They haven't been like this since the break up. Not even during the month they spent together as Avengers. Fury usually tried to keep them apart anyway. Tony still doesn't know why Loki brought up the break up, even though he was the one who decided it was final, mostly because he was angry and hurt and thought maybe it'll help him not be so attached.

It didn't. He's still very much in love with Loki. Tony knows he needs to get over Loki because it's obvious that the god (it's so weird to call him that) is way over him. Tony's just being a hopeless romantic now.

He doesn't even notice that's he's wrapped his arms around Loki's waist until the god stirs and sends him a seething glare.

"Get your arms off me, Stark." Tony opens his eyes to find red eyes staring into his own brown ones. "I mean it. We aren't children anymore. You've got to get over me."

"Hey. Shut your mouth, Reindeer."

"Reindeer?"

"Yeah. Your horns on your helmet look like antlers." Tony grabs onto the horns and laughs as Loki bats at his hands. "As I was saying, I'm not here to try to get you back. I'm here to be your friend. Don't you and Clint do this yourselves?"

"On occasion."

"So, as your friend, I'm giving you a comforting hug."

"It's different with you."

"And why is that?" Tony asks, letting go of the antlers.

"We used to do this in a more intimate manner."

Tony pauses before he nods slowly, smirking gleefully.

"Oh? Is that so? So, when I touch you, all you recall is when we used to do this before you moved?" Before we broke up.

"Don't test it, Stark. I can pierce you with ice if you cross the line."

"What line?" Tony gulps hesitantly, putting his arms back around the other man's waist. He is so gonna get murdered for this. Is it worth it? Fuck yeah, for him at least. "Baby, I thought we had no more lines."

Shit.

He is getting killed. And not just by Loki, but by Natasha, Clint, Steve, Fury, maybe Thor. Possibly-

"We don't."

_Holy fuck, did I just hear that correctly?_

"Pardon?"

"You heard me."

"Those were the most beautiful words I have ever heard."

"I'm sure they were. Let go of me."

"Can I kiss you?"

"No. Let go of me."

"Are we dating again?"

"No. _Let go of me!_"

"Am I getting a second chance?"

Loki gives Tony an annoyed look.

"If you want to put it that way, then yes."

And just to ruin the somewhat romantic moment, Laufey comes running by and knocks the two men over, all three tumbling to the ground. Tony jumps up onto his feet, rushing over to where his helmet fell, putting the headgear on. Looking back, he spots Laufey and Loki talking animatedly, Loki obviously getting angry.

"_Change me back!_" Loki screams, throwing a punch at his dad, who ducks. Tony wants to help so bad, but he knows this is a fight Loki has to win.

"I've spotted Laufey. He and Loki are fighting." Tony speaks to the intercom.

"Do you need help? Thor says he can come over," Clint mumbles back.

"No, it's cool. This is a fight Loki needs to win." Tony turns around at the sight of movement on his monitors. "More frost giants are coming though."

"We'll be over."

The battle quickly turns to blood and gore, puddles of rich blue blood and dead lifeless bodies. It was massacre. Tony doesn't ever want to participate in something like this again. He loses track of Laufey easily amongst the blue giants. Jarvis has frozen up thanks to the coldness of the giants and their stupid icicles. The Avengers, minus Loki because no one can find him, are being pushed back toward the Bifrost.

"We're going to have to abort!" Natasha cries out over the intercom. Tony looks around for her and spots a flash of red amongst the blue.

"Ok. Gather the Avengers, we're going back to Midgard!" Tony exclaims, blasting into the air. "Get to the Bifrost, I'll get Hemidall to open it up for us."

Flying as fast as he can, the man lands at the Bifrost and demands entrance so they can get back to Earth.

"No. You're not going anywhere."

Tony turns to face a smirking Laufey, both red and blue blood splattering his pale skin. The first thought that comes to Tony's mind is "wonder if the mixed blood turns purple". And then it finally registered that _oh my god, Laufey's trying to kill me_.

"I'm just gonna leave now." Tony blasts into the air and suddenly plummets to the ground, crashing on the magic bridge. "Fuck! Jarvis, tell me what's wrong."

"It seems as if a source of unknown energy is-"

"Jarvis? Jarvis, are you there?" No response. "Damn it!"

"Magic, Stark. You're powerless against it."

"Shut up, dick face." Tony snarled at the other man and shot at him, blowing the giant into the air. "Can anyone hear me over the intercom?"

"Yes...we're almost...just have...damn it...Loki!" Tony feels like ripping off his helmet to toss it over the bridge.

"Tasha, are you still there?"

That's when Tony makes the mistake of turning around, his back facing the supposedly fallen Laufey.

"Tony! We're on our way...c'mon...today...no..."

"That's good! Good! Come quickly!"

At the sound of a strangled cry, Tony turns to find Laufey in front of him with a knife in hand, raised and poised to stab Tony; to kill him. The billionaire immediately touches his side to make sure he wasn't stabbed. For all he knows, he could've made that strangled sound.

Laufey slumps to the ground and Tony follows the giant's descent with his eyes, staring at the hilt of a sword embedded in the blue patterned back. Looking up, Tony spots a familiar face. A familiar, feral face.

Loki stands in place of Laufey, teeth bared in a snarl, eyes bright red with anger and madness. The man's hands start shaking and that's when Tony notices all the blood coating the Jotun. He hopes none of it is Loki's.

"Loki? You alright?" The man doesn't respond and continues staring at the dead body of his father. "Loki, answer me." No response.

"Tony, watch out!"

Iron Man turns around at the sound of Clint's voice and out of the corner of his eye, spots an arrow flying through the air. Hearing a thud, he turns to find Loki wide eyed, hands iced over.

"Loki?"

"Shit! He fucking hit me with an icicle!" Clint cries out. Tony turns once more to find Clint on the bridge kneeled over, clutching at his stomach.

"I-I-" Loki murmurs, looking down at his hands. "I-"

Tony, Natasha, a de-Hulked Bruce and Steve rush over to Clint's side, helping the archer with his injury.

"Brother-"

"What do you want, Odinson?" Loki spits, turning to look at the blonde god. "Are you here to apologize as well? I've had enough of it already, so please, shut up and leave me alone."

"I'm not here to do anything of the sort because I'm not sorry for being your guardian."

"Then how come you agreed to let me stay down on Earth? If I am your adopted brother, then why let them hide me!" Loki's practically screeching now, blue fists clenched with anger. "You know what I am! You know why you agreed."

"Brother, I-"

"Don't call me that! You have no right to call me something you faked my whole life!"

"I never faked being your brother!"

Loki opens his mouth to retort, but instead raises his fist and punches Thor in the jaw. The blonde's head jerks back, but he doesn't respond with a blow at Loki. Instead, he grabs Loki's wrists and holds them tightly as the other god tries to escape the stronger god's grasp.

"Listen to me." Thor growls.

"I don't want to!" Loki whines in response.

"Is he having a temper tantrum?" Steve asks as he watches the interaction.

"I think so." Natasha murmurs, tending to Clint with Bruce and Tony.

"Should I go-"

"No. Let him deal with this himself."

"Father, Mother and I have lied to you for many years, but for good reason. If Asgard were to know of a Jotun prince, we would all be killed, not just you." Loki raises an unamused eyebrow. "You lived on Asgard until you were five and then Odin sent you and I to Midgard. He put a spell on you that would make you age in terms of Midgard and used a strong illusion spell to make sure your true form stays hidden."

"Until Laufey activated it."

"Yes. Your issues with Stark weren't the only reason why you weren't admitted into SHIELD." All the Avengers turn to the two gods at this. "Fury wanted you as a part of the Avengers. He wanted you very badly but he knew that doing so would put you in danger of activating your true form. You being under Asgardian protection would wage a war with Jotunheim and Asgard, a war Laufey wants because he thinks he'll win."

"But, how did he know it was me?" Loki asks quietly, no longer struggling. "It's not like I walk around with a banner saying 'Jotun bastard here'."

"Magic." Tony whispers under his breath at the same time as Thor.

"C'mon, let's go back to Earth. We have a lot to explain to Fury." Thor lets go of Loki's wrists. The blue god shudders and collapses to the ground in tears, sobs wracking his injured body.

By the time the Avengers reach the New York SHIELD base, Loki is unconscious and back in his Aesir form.

"Don't worry Loki." Tony sighs. "Everything will be okay."

* * *

A/N: next chapter on Satuday! Don't forget to review!

EDIT: The update is actually on Sunday because I'm busy all day Saturday :( I'm sorry, you'll have to wait an extra day to find out Loki's fate.

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is the last part of this story! It'll be my first finished multichapter fic! I'll expand this universe with other stories :D Thanks for reading!

* * *

Loki opens his eyes to find himself in a blank white room. The sounds of beeping echo in his ears. He's in the hospital or the infirmary. Either way, he's injured and hospitalized.

Lifting his arm, the god smiles as he sees his skin is back to its normal pale tan. It's a relief to not see that blue skin, the skin of a frost giant. The skin of his insane birth father.

Loki groans as he closes his eyes, everything from the day before coming back to him. He murdered Laufey and it wasn't the same as killing the Chitauri. It was crazed. Mad. Feral. Loki felt insane and blood thirsty. He wanted to kill the man. He wanted to feel his blue blood all over his hands. He wanted to watch him fall and die by the death of his only son.

Loki's still not sure if he's right of mind. Clint shot at him and on instinct, he attacked back, shooting icicles at the archer. He only hopes Clint isn't too injured. He feels a little dizzy and maybe a bit crazed. If anyone touches him, he knows he'll react but how is the real question.

"Hey, you're up."

The god turns to the right to find a smiling Tony Stark beside his bed. Loki thinks he should feel comfort in seeing a smiling and familiar face, but instead he feels sickened and disgusted at himself.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to wake up." Loki notes that Stark makes no move on commenting on Loki's rudeness. "It's been four days now."

"Four days?" Loki quickly sits up, regretting doing so as his head throbs. "What happened?"

"You've been deemed the hero of Midgard." Stark stands, looking down at Loki. For the first time in years, Loki actually feels smaller than Stark. And not just in terms of height. "The Avengers has become more than just a group of SHIELD heroes. We're famous. Worldwide. International."

"What does this mean?"

Tony chuckles and reaches down to the ground. Loki peers over the edge of his bed to spot the other man searching through a bag. He tosses action figures into Loki's covered lap. There's one of Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, Loki, and Thor. There's also a doll of Loki in his Jotun form wearing his armor, Loki in his human female form as Samica wearing her armor, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner.

"We're commercialized thanks to you saving Earth and Asgard from the Jotun giants."

"This all happened in four days?"

"Give or take. Fury sent a live feed to the world. Apparently, he wasn't expecting us to live." Loki can hear the pain in Stark's voice. "Anyway, it was sent to encourage people to join SHIELD since we now have two enemies."

"Did that work?"

"Yeah. Got quite a few people." Stark takes the dolls back, tossing the, into the bag. "Oh, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the Brotherhood are working on holding back the Chitauri right now. Fury doesn't want any of the Avengers doing anything until you're back to health."

Loki nods silently, closing his eyes. He hears Stark shuffle around and peeks an eye open to find the man grabbing his stuff.

"Where are the others?"

"In the lobby. I'll send them in."

Loki watches Stark as he leans forward, giving Loki a kiss on the forehead and a loving look before walking out of the room. Loki's stomach lurches for reasons unknown. He's not sure if it's disgust or the feeling he used to have whenever he would see Stark back when they were dating.

"Loki."

The god smiles as the rest of the Avengers file into the room. In the background, he spots cameras and reporters following the group of superheroes.

"It's wonderful to see you again." he says through tight lips, smiling warmly at Natasha and Clint. Loki ignores Thor, not wanting to look into the god's pity-filled blue eyes. "Stark told me about our increase in popularity."

"Yeah. Your stunt with Laufey earned us the gold medal in advertising. We've got fans making Avengers TV shows with the little action figures." Clint chuckles here. "They've got a whole fandom thing going on."

"This all happened in four days?"

"No way! That's practically impossible!" the archer narrows his eyes with a question. "Did Tony tell you it's been four days?" Loki doesn't respond. "It's not like he would know. He's been sitting in this room with you for days. He only comes out for press conferences and shit like that."

"So, how long has it been?"

"Oh, about a month and a half, give or take."

Loki's eyes widen. He's been out for over a month?

"How's the war? How is Asgard?" Loki blurts out.

"Oh, the Chitauri have spread out through New York, the state that is. Seattle and Houston have gotten attacked as well. Some international superheroes have been holding back the Chitauri in other countries, although the Chitauri's main goal is to destroy New York City." Bruce replies adjusting his glasses. "You've become the staple of the Avengers. There's toys and shows and blogs dedicated to you and the Avengers."

"Really? All because I killed Laufey?"

"Not just. It's more that by killing him, you left the Jotun's kingless and lost. So, you stopped the war." Natasha squeezes Loki's hand. "You're the heir to the Jotunheim throne now."

"Ha! You must think I'm a pile of shit if you think I'm going to take that throne." No one comments. "What other news is there besides my popularity increasing?"

"We have a meeting to go to later since you've woken up."

Loki's eyes turn on the speaker, green eyes blazing with hatred. He can feel that crazed feeling rush through him. Sky blue eyes lock and stare, both gods waiting for the other to break the hold.

"Must I attend this meeting?" Loki snaps at the blonde god.

"Yes, you must." Natasha cuts in, letting go of Loki's hand. "Tony and I will help you out and then we need to go to this conference."

The others file out of the room and Loki ignores the look Thor is giving him as he leaves.

"Damn it Loki, give the blonde a break." Natasha hisses, yanking Loki out of the bed. His stomach lurches and it takes all his might to keep his food down. Or whatever's in there. "He knows what he did is wrong. There's no need to rub it in his face."

Loki gives Natasha a look, but she ignores him, tossing clothes at his face. It's obvious that she's still angry, even a month and a half later.

"Tasha,"

"Shut up and get dressed, Laufeyson." Natasha looks up with hard steely brown eyes before storming out of the room, heels clacking as she leaves.

"I assume she's very mad at me still."

"Yes." Stark replies, gathering the clothes. "You know how Tasha is. Ever since what's-his-face, she's been very cautious about who to trust and she thought she could trust you. She thought you wouldn't lie to her."

"I admit I've made a terrible mistake, but I know what I did was wrong." Stark nods in response, helping the god take off his sweat drenched shirt. "Do you know what this conference is about?"

"Confirmation that you're alive and that the Avengers can go back to traveling through the realms." Tony shrugs. "Just read the speech written for you. That should please the reporters."

"Stark," Loki watches Stark pause with adjusting Loki's jacket. Their eyes lock and the god takes a deep breath. "Tony, I-"

"Shh, whatever you're going to say, wait until after this publicity interview is over, alright?"

"But you don't even know what I was to say."

"I have my suspicions."

"Well, don't keep your hopes up."

"No need." Tony gives Loki a wink before fixing the injured man's shoes. "Alright. Start walking, we need to see if you need a cane."

"A cane? I'm a god, Stark, why would a need a cane?" Loki rolls his eyes and takes a step, practically falling into Stark's arms. "I wouldn't need a cane because a wheelchair would be more preferable."

A retrieval of a wheelchair later, Stark wheels Loki out of the infirmary. The older man starts yapping about his Iron Man suit and the modifications he's been doing to upgrade it. Loki's not really listening to all the picky details. He's enjoying just listening to Stark talk right now.

Flashing lights and the noise of a loud crowd infiltrates Loki's sense. He squeezes his eyes shut for a second before finding himself next to the other Avengers, who are all in uniform except him and Tony. So, is this about Loki Odinson and Tony Stark? Or Loki the God of Mischief and the Avengers? The man searches through the crowd, unsure of what he's looking for. A familiar face? A smiling Frigga looking proud of him?

"Loki Laufeyson may speak now."

Loki looks up at Stark, who passes him some papers. The man bends down to Loki, adjusting his sunglasses as he whispers into Loki's ear.

"Read what's there. And don't answer any questions, ok?"

"Why not?" Loki replies, his breath tickling Stark's ear.

"Because you won't know the answer to them."

"How do you know?"

"Believe me when I say I do." Tony squeezes Loki's hand before standing back up, straightening his tie before strolling over to his friends.

"Citizens of Midgard," Loki starts reading, already not liking the speech. Hmm, looks like it's time to improvise. "It is a pleasure to be back on Earth. As many of you know, you and I have experienced the revelations of many a secret including who Samica is and what I really am." The crowd silences. "My name is Loki Laufeyson and I am an Asgardian god, a Jotunheim frost giant prince, Samica the Shapeshifter, and a hero of Midgard." The god looks through the crowd, smiling to himself. "I have only just woken up from my coma moments before this meeting. I do not know the conditions of anything except the advances of the Chitauri. My own people, the frost giants, want me to take the throne since I am the last prince of Jotunheim." People start murmuring. "I won't accept. They never loved me either, leaving me out in the cold to die."

"Mr. Laufeyson," Loki turns to the reporter, ignoring Stark's frantic look, "when the live feed of the Asgard-Jotunheim battle aired, Tony Stark as Iron Man found you and you two talked as if you had a deeper past. Would you like to explain this?"

"No, not really." Loki smirks. "But, if you want to know, I can tell you." Everyone starts eagerly shouting questions. "One question at a time, you mewling quims!" That got everyone to shut up. "Now, Samica was a secret Avenger during her month in New York. No one really knew of her, no one really cared. Thus, no one would've ever known who Samica really is. I could be a part of SHIELD where my ex is, without having to deal with any drama. You see, Stark and I have a...complicated friendship. We both grew up in New York, not as friends of course. We didn't know the other existed until our families moved to San Francisco and we went to school together.

"We instantly became good friends and were practically inseparable. The attraction was unavoidable on both sides. We were bound to start seeing the other in a different light, a romantic one." Loki bites the inside of his cheek, making sure not to let his eyes flicker to Stark. "And so, we started dating."

"Why did you break up?"

"Because I felt like he didn't love me as much as I did him. I didn't want to put myself in that sort of situation." Loki can definitely feel Stark's eyes on him. Don't turn, don't look, don't acknowledge him. "It was actually the other way around I later found out."

"Will you two be getting back together?"

Here Loki turns to Stark, who's putting on a massive poker face, obviously trying to his his emotions. The two lock eyes and Stark gives him the slightest twitch upward of his lips, the signal Loki needs.

"Right now, our pain is fresh and our wounds are open. It would be dangerous to get back together." Loki nods his head in agreement with himself.

"So, will you ever get back together?"

"It depends on how long it takes for the wounds to close up."

Loki can't help but feel warmth at the look on Stark's face at hearing that. "So yes, we will hopefully be able to reconcile and return to out romantic relationship instead of the animosity we share."

"Any comments, Stark?"

"I just...I'm just so happy, you know? I'm glad that I'm getting this chance again, this chance to be with Loki in this way once more. It's hard to fall out of love with Loki; I know I haven't been able to." Stark gives the reporter a soft laugh. Loki rolls his eyes, hoping he doesn't look too annoyed.

"For all the fans out there watching this," Loki hears one reporter say. What in the world is she talking about? "Frostiron is canon!"

"What." Loki blinks a few times, turning to Stark, who's busy talking to a reporter. What is this Frostiron?

Turning back to the crowd, Loki continues searching. He feels like something's staring at him. Someone or something in that crowd is making him anxious and nervous. There must be a Jotun out there in the crowd blending in. Loki can feel it in his bones.

They eyes lock and a smirk takes over the other person's lips, red eyes boring into Loki's green ones. Loki holds back a gasp. Is that Laufey? But Loki killed him. Loki knows he killed him because he remembers every single detail and feeling of killing that monster.

"You ok?" Tony asks quietly, grabbing onto the handles of Loki's wheelchair.

"Yes, I'm quiet swell." Loki replies tensely, still staring at the Laufey looking man. "Give me a second darling, I have to talk with someone."

"But you can't walk."

"I know." Loki climbs out of his chair, wobbiling a bit. The man in the crowd nods and walks down the street, turning around the corner. "Tell the others I'll be but a second."

"Ok. Don't get yourself killed."

Loki nods and gives Stark a small smile before running down the street. His legs are killing him and he'll pass out any second now, but that was Laufey, was it not? He needs to find out for himself though.

"So you came despite being so ill."

"What do you want?"

"I have a message from Odin of Asgard."

Loki looks up and finds himself looking into the bright red eyes of a Jotun giant.

"Why do you look like that? Midgardians here hate people like you."

"People like us. No matter how much you wish to deny it, you are a frost giant, Prince Loki."

"Do not call me that." Loki hisses, leaning against the wall of a building. "I am not your prince and I am not a prince of Asgard." the black-haired god turns from the other person. "What is it that Odin must tell me?"

"He demands you take the Jotunheim throne."

"Does he think me stupid? Do I look like I want to rule over a land of imbeciles and degenerates like you?" Loki exclaims, obviously horrified. "Tell Odin that I decline his demand."

"He says you must take the throne or else Jotunheim will attack Asgard once more with no mercy."

"Do I care?" the green-eyed god turns to the blue monster beside him. "Tell him the answer is no. If he wants a king for the Jotuns, find someone else to do it. I am not a bargain chip for him to use to avoid war."

With that, Loki turns his back to the giant and walks back toward the hospital where the reporters are.

"OMG! It's Loki!"

The god turns to find a crowd of young girls with dolls in their hands running toward him. He doesn't have a chance to run away before he's bombarded with questions and requests.

"Are you and Iron Man really getting together?"

"You have to watch my YouTube show, Loki! It's pure Frostiron!"

"Can I take a picture with you?"

"Oh my gawd, I can't believe I'm standing next to a god!"

The young man stands in the center, trying to calm everyone down.

"Hey, show's over!" Loki sighs with relief, watching all the fans rush over to Tony. "Did you talk to who needed to talk to, Lokes?"

"Yes." Loki smiles at the other man. He doesn't know why he said what he did during the conference. Getting back together with Tony? That's like mixing soda with a Mento. Explosions are bound to happen, and not just the good ones.

Tony and Loki are gonna need to have a serious talk about feelings and Loki does not want to talk about his feelings. Especially with Stark. Last time they did that, they broke up. This time, there are just too many negative results to consider. It would be an incredibly stupid decision to talk about his feelings with Stark. Feelings Loki himself doesn't even know and doesn't want to analyze because he has suspicions of what they are and a part of him doesn't want to find out his suspicions are true.

"Come one, let's get you back inside. Bruce wants to check up on you to make sure you're healing correctly. Thor told us that gods heal faster than normal, but we still need to monitor you."

Loki nods in response, letting Stark grab his hand. All the girls and other fans start squeal. A couple faint.

"Oh yes, this reminds me, what is this Frostiron?" Loki doesn't look amused as Tony starts laughing.

"It's a name from the fandom I told you about. Fans pair us together in their imagination and write, draw, or make videos about it." Loki raises an eyebrow in response. "Frostiron is the pairing name for you and I."

"Frostiron?" Tony nods. "Hmm, you will have to show me more of this whole fandom stuff."

"Watch my video!"

"Mine too!"

"Can you kiss for the fans?"

Loki chokes on air and Tony starts coughing. They let go of each other's hands as they try to get their breathing patterns back on track.

"Darling, Stark and I aren't together." Loki replies, patting Tony's back. "So, we can't kiss."

"Please? Just one small one to prove that Frostiron is real!"

"What more proof do you need? I explained it all on stage earlier. You need not-mmph!" Loki's words are stopped as Tony grabs his arm, spinning him around to kiss him hard.

Loki's world completely stops. He freezes, unsure of what to do. Tony is kissing him, finally, but it's totally wrong! They aren't together and Loki's over Tony and Tony needs to get his head screwed on straight because they're over. Well, not anymore.

Since Loki here doesn't know how to listen to directions, he answered a question and confirmed his relationship with Tony with a proclamation of them possibly dating once more. Sometimes, Loki curses his ability to lie smoothly. One thing about being a liar is that if you do it often, you start lying to yourself.

And so yeah, maybe Loki's been lying to himself these past few years about supposedly getting over Tony. He's still mad that Tony avoided him. He's mad that they lost contact all because they ended their romantic relationship. It was a bit of a messy break up, but they were best friends. Their friendship should've never stopped.

"Back together already?"

Loki pulls away from Tony, finding himself with his hands on Tony's waist with Tony's arms around his neck. Apparently, Loki responded to the kiss in the midst of his thinking and analyzing.

Damn it.

Now Loki knows that he still has feelings for Tony and wants to get back with him. This is not good. No, not good at all.

"No, we're not." Loki murmurs, clearing his throat. "It was for the fans." Tony nods in response.

"Too raunchy for just the fans." Clint winks with a smirk, adjusting his quiver strap. "Since you're well enough to jump Tony-"

"I did not jump him!"

"-you can come with us to New York. Fury wants us over there as soon as possible."

"Really? Are things getting worse over there?" Tony asks, turning to the Avengers.

"No. Fury wants to activate Loki's magic." Captain America replies.

"What?" Loki turns on Steve. "My magic is blocked because of the tools I have put in my body to create my powers. You would have to deactivate everything that makes me the superhero I am."

"Actually, your powers never worked." Bruce fidgets with a shameful look. "Your shapeshifting equation has an error that can kill you. Odin activated your shapeshifting magic so you wouldn't die."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. Um, none of your powers worked. It was all magic. That's why you couldn't change the color of the 'energy' you never truly created. It's all magic."

Once more Loki's life falls apart. He spent months working on his superhero persona so he could get into SHIELD and two months later he finds out all of his work was wrong. It's like Tony finding out the formulas he used to get his ARC reactor to fuel his suit are all false and a god from the heavens activated some mystical power of Tony's so he could shoot energy from his reactor. Or something like that. Loki was never too good with similes.

"Loki? Are you ok?"

Loki doesn't respond to Tony. How many times is he going to be lied to? Does Bruce not know how horrific this is to feel this much disappointment? To find out that all your work is a lie?

"What else is there? I can tell you're all hiding something else from me!" Loki shouts, clenching his fists. The crowd around them quiets down. "Tell me what else you know! I'm tired of you hiding everything from me!"

"Ok." Clint shrugs nonchalantly. "So, your powers are all pure magic. The stuff you created never worked. You are the King of Jotunheim. You are immortal and heal quickly. You're moving to Jotunheim to rule your people next month. You're also the god of fire if you didn't know that already. Oh, you're still going to be an Avenger, but you won't go patrolling through the nine with us. Something about having the King of Jotunheim check up on all the realms didn't sit well with the other realms. Also, when you go up to Jotunheim, your Aesir glamour will dissipate. And-"

Loki lashes out, a wave of green magic bursting from his hands. All the Avengers except Tony get blown back into the crowd, citizens screaming with fright. A hand lands on his shoulder and Loki whips around to smack the shit out of whoever touched him. He falters in his movements as he recognizes Tony's face in the back of his mind.

"Loki, calm down." Tony says, but Loki can barely hear him. He's stuck in that mad feral state where he wants to kill everything. Where he wants to feel the warmth of red blood on his fingers. He wants the smell of iron rich blood to permeate the air. He wants people to hate him. "Loki, can you hear me?"

Loki doesn't listen to Tony and turns toward the assembling Avengers. Oh, he wants to kill every single one of those lying pathetic mortals. His lie is nothing compared to the lies they held and told him. He finds himself shifting forms, shifting into something he's never seen or touched before, proving that the six months he spent working was wasted time.

"Oh my god Loki, calm the fuck down!"

"What?" Loki asks, turning to face a frightened Tony. He realizes that his word sounding more like a bark than an actual word.

"My brother," here Loki snarls, his fur on end, "has morphed into Fenrir, the giant wolf. I assume he can also morph into Sleipnir the eight-legged horse and Jormungand, the snake."

"A wolf. Loki can morph into a wolf." Tony comments, still stuck on the wolf part of Thor's statement. He puts a hand on Loki's flank and the god turns to look down at the mortal man before him. "It's ok, Loki. Let's get you back toward SHIELD base."

Loki nods and morphs back into his human form, extremely tired and exhausted. Tony grabs his arm and helps Loki onto his feet. The Avengers step out of the way as Iron Man and Loki walk by.

"I don't want this anymore." Loki murmurs against Tony's shoulder. "This isn't what I expected when entering SHIELD."

"I didn't expect to get blown back by a Chitaurian bomb during my assessment." Tony taps on his arc reactor. "That's what this is for. Keeps shrapnel from my heart." Loki nods in response. "Look, we all get something we don't want or expect from this, wether it's shrapnel in the chest, finding out you're a god, or becoming a SHIELD experiment gone wrong (that's Bruce by the way). That's what makes us unique. That's what makes us superheroes.

"I know it must hurt a lot to learn all this stuff. I didn't find out until you did myself. I'm pretty sure there's a good reason why they didn't tell you sooner."

"I don't want to be the Jotunheim King. They're disgusting creatures who care about nothing but blood and the destruction of Asgard. I can't be an Avenger, one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and be the King of one of Earth's enemies."

"Yes, you can. That's what you are."

"Why are you doing this?" Loki pushes Tony away, stumbling on his feet. "There's something else, right?"

"What, no!" Tony looks appalled. "I don't have anything else. Besides, you already know why I'm doing this."

Loki's cheeks heat up before he nods.

"Stark, we need to talk."

"I know."

"And not just about you and I, but about the Chitauri war, the Asgard-Jotunheim battle, life period." Loki turns to Tony, his green eyes blazing with unanswered questions. "We got interested in this mess as friends. We got into it as bitter exes. Do you think we'll be able to stick with it as friends once more? Or even as partners?"

"Of course we can. I'm Tony Stark, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist and you're Loki Laufeyson, King of Jotunheim and the god of lies, fire and mischief. We've both changed since our high school days. We've learned secrets and have fallen down in the eyes of others for our lies and practices. Thing is, the truth and lies of our lives is what makes everything more interesting." Tony grabs Loki's hands. "Just don't ever fall under."

"I won't, Tony." Loki smiles genuinely for the first time in months. "I promise I won't."

_And the deal was sealed with a kiss._


	4. Chapter 4

I am leaving. For years I have been dishonest with my family and my parents about my personal and online behavior and activity. I created this account, a Yahoo account, Tumblr and AO3 account amongst others a month ago despite the rules given to me that state I have no permission to create these accounts. For two years, I have been slacking off with my schoolwork, not turning in assignments and not completing the assignments. One affect of these actions is that my grades have gone from straight A's to barely being able to get a C. I have also been acting out against my sister, so my parents told me no online accounts until I get my grades back together.

Now, they have discovered my lies, and I lied even more once caught. So, this will be my last post before I close down these respective accounts. I'm saying goodbye to you all out of respect for the community, the readers, and the encouragement given to me. If you see me again, it will be a sign that I have ceased the lying and have gotten back to doing simple things, such as doing my homework.


End file.
